Deadlift

A deadlift is one of the most important exercises at the gym next to the barbell squat. Engages almost the whole body and one of its varieties should be included in every training plan. Why is it worth doing and what should we remember about?

The best, but most often overlooked

The effectiveness of deadlift in the development of muscle mass and the improvement of strength is repeatedly confirmed. Despite this, it is one of the most neglected exercises. Why? The reason is prosaic. A deadlift requires enormous concentration and effort. We need to involve almost all muscles in our body, even the neck.

Another popular excuse is fear of damage to the back or spine. This is a big mistake, because properly performed deadlift is a protective exercise for the spine. It improves torso stability, strengthens the back and abdominal muscles and teaches us to maintain the correct curvature of the spine. This is a good thing that is useful in many situations, not just at the gym.

The basic movement pattern

Lifting heavy objects from the floor is one of the basic movement patterns we use every day. If you pick up shopping nets, carry buckets of water, lift a couch during cleaning or bring a washing machine to your apartment, you’re doing some form of deadlift. The ability to do this correctly is invaluable and your back will certainly be grateful.

Not just the back

Although a deadlift is often considered an exercise on the back, it actually involves much more muscle. In addition to the dorsal rectifiers, gluteal muscles, two-headed thighs, the widest backs, and adductor thighs play a large role. One can not forget about stabilizing muscles, eg levator, quadratus, abdominal, sci-sac, and many minor muscles.

A huge stimulus for muscles

When using a deadlift, we usually use the heaviest weights. Larger than squat, bench press or rowing. This guarantees a huge stimulus for the body, both for the muscles and the nervous system. Why is it so important? It stimulates the release of natural anabolic hormones and enhances the synthesis of proteins necessary to build muscle. It is not without reason that if you want to build a big bicep, you have to do dead strings or squats. Immediately after training, we should take carbohydrates to replenish the glycogen level in the muscles. We can take them in the form of a meal or post-workout supplement.

Different variants of deadlift

In the basic deadlift of the legs, set the shoulder width and grab the barbell a bit wider. We have, however, many other types of deadlift, eg:deadlift on straight legs,
dead sumo train, Romanian dead band (RDL), dead one-legged sequence, deadlift with a gangway bar.

When performing a deadlift, the grip force can be a big problem. The solution is to use the magnesia to increase the grip of the hand and wrist straps that will relieve our forearms. We can also hold the strength of the grip, for example, by pulling up or hanging on the rod.

Popular mistakes

The most common and very dangerous mistake is doing the so-called cat’s back. It should be remembered that during each phase of deadlift our back should be in the natural position of the spine, and the movement must be performed at the hips. Remember not to look sideways at the mirror because it is dangerous. It’s best to ask someone else to evaluate the technique or to record a movie.

Another common mistake is too much extension (hyperextension) in the hips and pulling the weight with hoods. The final position should be neutral, i.e. as if we were standing without load. Mistakes also include unconsolidation of the shoulder blades and starting movement from the extension of the legs and lifting the pelvis. Most of these errors are associated with too much weight. When we can not lift it properly, the technique is crumbling like a house of cards. Sometimes it’s better to put a few kilos less on the barbell and enjoy a healthy back.